Carriage for excavator buckets



Feb. 5, 1929. 1,701,013

G. T. RONK CARRIAGE FOR EXCAVATOR BUCKETS Filed Aug.v 8, 1927 Patented Feb. 5, 1929.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE 'I'. RONK, 0F CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO SPEEDER MACHINERY COR- PORATION, F CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA., .A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

CARRIAGE FOR EXCAVATOR BUCKETS.

Application led August 8, 1927.

The object of my invention is to provide an excavator' bucket carriage of *simple7 durable and inexpensive construction, which is particularly adapted to be operated on a swinging boom, and to travel longitudinally of said boom, and to carry an excavator bucket for grading and back filling devices, so arranged that the said bucket and devices may be easily and quickly connected or disconnected therewith.

More specifically it is the object of my invention to provide in a bucket carriage improved means for mounting the supporting rollers, whereby the wear between the rollers and their pivots, and between the rollers and the boommay be easily and quickly adjusted so that the carriage may be operated Without vibrating.

My invention consists inthe construct-ion, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying draw- V ings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my im proved carriage, a portion of one of the sides being removed to show the manner in which the carriage rollers engage the boom, and also illustrating the manner in which a ditcher bucket may be mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of same illustrating the .manner in which a back filling blade may be attached to the carriage.

Figure 3, is a front end elevation of the carriage with the bucket and back filling device removed.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken O on the line 4,-4 of Figure 2. 4

on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one end of one of the roller supporting shafts.

The numeral l0 indicates the boom of an excavator, and particularly of that type used in skimmer attachments for excavators. The said boom comprises a pair of spaced I-beams 11 connected by means of suitable brackets 12, so that the two I-beams are united together to form a single looom unit.

My improved carriage comprises a base plate 13 designed to be supported beneath the boom 10 and has its upper surface provided with upwardly extending side plates 14, spaced apart a distance slightly greater Figure 5 isl a detail sectional view taken Serial No. 211,459.

than the width of the boom 10, so that the said boom may be supported between said plates. The plates 14 are secured to the plate 13 by means of suitable angle bars 15. The plates 14 are designed to support transversely arranged shafts 16 and 17, the shaft 16 being mounted above the boom 10 and the shaft 17 below the said boom. The shaft 16 is mounted near the forward end of the plate while the shaft 17 is mounted near the rear 'end of said plate. Each of said shafts has a contracted. portion 18 at each end designed to enter holes 19 in said plates 14. The outer ends of the portions 18 are screw threaded to receive suitable nuts 20. By this arrangement the plates 14 are rigidly secured to the shafts 16 and 17 and prevent lateral movement of said plates, and further provide means for maintaining the plates in proper spaced relation.

Rot-atively mounted on each end of the shafts 16 and 17 is a roller 21 having its outer endprovided with a flange 22. The rollers of the shaft- 16 are designed to travel on top of the boom, while those of the shaft 17 aro designed to engage the under surface of said boom. rlhe plates 14 are also designed to support transversely arranged shafts 23 and 24. The shaft 23 is mounted belowthe boom, and below the shaft 16, and

` the shaft r24 above the boom and the shaft 17. Each end of the shafts 23 and 24 is provided-With a contracted portion 25 mounted' eccentrically with the body of said shafts. The outer end of one of the portions 25 of each shaft is provided with a flattened por tion 26, as clearly illust-rated in Figure 6. The members 25 are rotatively mounted in suitable holes 27 in the plates 14. A lever 2,8 is provided for each `of the portions 26, 9

and provides means for rotating the shafts 23 and 24. The outer end of each of the levers is 4provided with slotted portions 29 for receiving bolts 30 which provide means for locking the levers 28 in their adjusted positions. Each end of the shafts 23 and 24 is provided with rollers 31 similar to the rollers 21. The rollers of the shaft 24 engage the upper surface of the boom and those of the shaft 23 engage the under surface of said boom.

The forward edge of the under surface of the plate 13 is provided with a pair of spaced downwardly extending arms 32 designed to pivotally receive an excavator bucket 33 by means of pivot pins 34. The back edge of the under surface of the plate 31 is provided with hinge members 35 to which the back plate 36 of the bucket member 33 may be attached. The bucket 33 is so arranged that it may be filled as the carriage is moved to the right, as shown in Figure 1. This forward movement of the carriage may be accomplished through a cable or similar device attached to a suitable bracket 37 secured to the forward edge of the plate 13.

When power is thus applied, and if the bucket is being filled, itwill be seen that the forward ends of the plates 14 will be moved downwardly while the rear ends of said plates will be moved upwardly. By this arrangement it will be seen that substantially all of the filling strain between the carriage and the boom 10 is carried by the shafts 16 and 17, and a large percent of the wear between the rollers and the shafts will take place in these members. For that reason the shafts 23 and 24 are made to rotate, to adjust the rollers 31 to or from the boom, so that the carriage may be moved longitudinally of the boom, while filling the bucket, without vibration between the rollers of said carriage and the boom. This adjustment may be made by simply loosening the nut of the bolts 3() and swinging the free ends of the arms 28, causing the eccentric shafts 23 and Q4 to be moved toward or from the boom. After the adjustment has been made, the levers are locked in position by means of bolts 30. The outer ends of the members 26 are screw threaded and provided with nuts 38 for further locking the eccentric shafts in position, as well as to maintain the levers 2S in position on the portions :26 and further support the plates 14 against lateral movement.

In Figure 2 of the drawings, I have illustrated a back filler blade 39 having rearwardly extending lugs 40 which may be pivotally connected to the arm 32 in place of the bucket member 33, by means of the pins 34. The plate 39 is held against rock ing movement about the pins 34 by means of brace members 41 connected by means of a turn buckle 42. One end of said brace members is connected to the blade 39 by means of pins 43, and the other end connected to the hinge members 35 by means of pins 44. The action of the carriage when the back filler blade is attached is similar to its action when the bucket is attached. It will readily be seen that blades of various sizes and shapes may be substituted for the blade 39 for performing a number of operations.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a carriage particularly adapted to be used on skimmer booms, and to which a number of various kinds of buckets or blades may be easily and quickly -attached or removed so that a single carriage may be adapted to operate various kinds of' devices.

It will further be seen that I have provided a carriage having means whereby the wear between the carriage supporting rollers and the boom on which it travels may be easily and quickly adjusted.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bucket carriage comprising a pair of spaced frame members, transversely ai ranged shafts for connecting said members, boom engaging rollers carried by said shafts, a second set of transversely arranged shafts, mounted between said plates, the ends of said shafts terminating in eccentric portions rotatively mounted in said plates, a lever for each of said shafts for rotating the same, means for locking said levers in various adjustable positions of movement, and boom engaging rollers for said eccentric shafts.

2. A bucket carriage comprising a pair of spaced frame members adapted to travel adjacent to a boom, eccentrically mounted and transversely arranged shafts mounted in said frame member, boom engaging rollers on said shafts, some of said shafts being designed to travel on one side of the boom and others on the opposite side, and means for rotating said shafts to cause their corresponding rollers to move toward and from said boom.

3. A bucket carriage comprising a base plate, a pair of spaced and vertically arranged plates, transversely arranged eccentric shafts for connecting said plates, rollers rotatively mounted on said shafts between said plates, and means for rocking said shafts to move the rollers thereon laterally toward and from a beam on which they are designed to travel.

GEORGE T. RONK. 

